Vertical centrifugal bolt or separator



(No Model.) 4 3 sheets-sheen 1. L. G'ATHMANN.

- VERTIGAL GENTRIFUGAL BOLT 0R SEPARATQR.

No.f319,574. A Patented June 9, 1885.

F119 fla.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

L. GATHMANN.

VERTICAL GENTRIFUGAL BOLT 0R SEPARATOR.

N0. 319,574. l Patented June 9, 1885.

PL PETERS. Pholn-Lilhographnr. Wnahlnlnln 5.0.

(No ModeL) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

L. GATHMANN.

VERTICAL GENTRFUGAL BOLT OR SEPARATOR.

No. 319,574. Patented June 9, 1885.

lUNIrnn STATES y Partnr rrncn.V

LOUIS GATIIMANN, on OI-IIOAGO, ILLINOIS.

VERTICAL CENTRIFUGAL BOLT OR SEPARATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 319,57@ dated June 9, 1885.

Appncmion and February er, 1884. (No model.) v

To @ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, LOUIS GATIIMANN, of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vertical Centrifugal Bolts or Separators; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

rIhis invention relates to that class of centrifugal separators in which the axis of the rotating beater-drum is vertical, and in which the material is fed in at the bottom, and the refuse or unbolted portions of the material are discharged at the top, the material being lifted or carried from the bottom to the top of the machine by the mutual operation of inclined beaters or spiral flanges upon the central ro-` tating drum and the surrounding stationary parts.

One object of the invention is to provide in separators of the class mentioned an improved means for regulating the rapidity of' the up?` ward movement of material through the ma-` chine.

In machines of the character above de-4 scribed the degree of elevating force by which the Inaterial is carried upward is dependent` upon the inclination of the beaters or spiral` drum-flange; to the speed at which the drumA is rotated, and to the proximity of the surrounding stationary parts, the revolving parts of the drum operating both by impact upon the material and by the production of a rotary and upward air-current in the space between the drum and the exterior screen. With ref-` erence to the said air-current, it follows that if the rotary movement of the air within theA space between the drum and the screen is checked to a greater or less extent by narrowing the space between the drum and the surrounding screen at one or more sides of the drum, the upward movementof the air will be correspondingly accelerated, and the material will be carried more rapidly upwardV through the machine. In view of these facts, and as an improved means for regulating the` upward passage of material through machines ofthe character described, Iplace one or morel to secure a compensation for the less force with which the material is borne against the bolting-cloth at the upper than at the lower parts of the machine. is made in sections of unequal fineness, the coarser being placed above the finer.

The invention consists in the improved features of construction above stated, and also To this end thebolting-cloth in other matters hereinafter described, and Y pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved vertical centrifugal bolt, having portions of the exterior casing broken away, so as to show the interior drum, provided with a spiral rib or flange, and also the sectional bolting cloth or screen surrounding the drum, together with other features of construction in the machine. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section of the machine taken upon line w ao of Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a central vertical section of the machine, taken upon the line so m of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 `is a central vertical section taken upon liney y of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the exterior of the beater-drum. Fig. 6 is a face view of one of the adjustable portions illustrated in Fig. 2. Fig. 7 is a side view of the partition or valve strip shown in Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is a side elevation of the partition or valve strip shown in Fig. 6, illustrating a modified form of the transverse ribs thereon. Fig. 9 is an enlarged view of a part of one of the spiral flanges on the drum. Fig. l() is a view of the sheet-metal strip or blank from which the said flange may be formed. Fig. 1l is a vertical axial section of the drum, illustrating a modified construction in the spiral flanges thereof. Fig. 12 is a detail exterior View of a part of the drum shown in Fig. 11. Fig. 13 is a detail view illustrating an undulating form of the Iro spiral A,iiange upon the drum. Fig. 14 is a fragmentary sectional plan View illustrating the construction of the undulating spiral ange shown in Fig. 13.

The principal part of the frame of the machine, in the form thereof which is herein illus trated, consists of twoparallel beams, AA, forming the base of the machine,and two parallel uprights, A', arranged upon opposite sides of the machine, said uprights being connected near the base of the machine by crossbeams a a' and at the top by cross-beams A2. The two uprights A' are considerably greater in width than thickness, and are located with their plane sides parallel to each other, forming two opposite sides of the outer casing or housing of the machine. The said uprightsA are, as herein shown, cut away in their middle portions, so as to form opposite elongated vertical slots A3, extending from a point near the bottom to a point near the top of the said uprights.

Upon theinner faces of the uprights A', adjacent to and at either side of the slots or apertures A3, are secured vertical posts A4,which serve as points of attachment for the lateral margins of the laterally opposite parts or sections of the-screen or bolting-cloth B. Said screen is, as herein shown, made in two separate sections, forming parts of cylinders, said sections consisting of suitable skeleton frames having vertical bars b and circumferential ribs b' secured by screws or other suitable means to the posts A4.

' Within the screen or bolt B, and concentric therewith, is located a drum, C, which, as herein shown, is secured upon an axial shaft, C', which rests at the lower end in a suitable step, c, on the cross-beam a', and rises at its upper end through the housing of the machine, between the crossbeams A2,where it is supported in a suitable bearing, c', sustained from said cross-pieces. The said shaft C is provided at one end or the other with a suitable pulley, C2, for rotating the drum, said pulley, as indicated in the accompanying draw` ings, being located at the upper end 0f the shaft.

-The drum C may be constructed in any suitable or desired manner, but, as herein shown, it is made hollow, and its walls cylindrical. Said walls may be made of wood or other material, and they may, as shown, be sustained conoentrically with the shaft C' by means of end pieces, c2, held rigidly upon the shaft by means of ianged castings or hubs c2, fixed to the shaft; or they may be supported in any other desired or preferred manner.

Upon the exterior surface of the drum -G are placed spiral flanges D, which are preferably continuous, and lmay be constructed in any desired or preferred manner.

E E are outwardly-inclined beaters placed upon the drum O, in the spaces between the flanges D, said beaters preferably terminating in the same cylindric surface as the outer margins of the langes D, and being backwardly inclined with reference to the direc tion of motion of the surface of the drum when the the latter is rotated.

Exterior to the bolting-cloth B are located chambers F, inclosed in part by the stationary uprights A', and in part by the wallsG,which may be constructed of wood, as herein shown, or of any other suitable material-as, for instance, of cloth or canvasas described in an application for patent upon centrifugal separators filed by me September 12, 1883. The

closed by the cylindric screen B. Said hea'd G3 is, as herein shown, attached to the lower surface of the cross-piece A2, but may be otherwise secured.

The walls G are, as here illustrated, composed of two inclined boards or panels, g, of wood, secured, preferably, by means of hinges g', Figs. 1 and 2, to the edges of the uprights A', and secured at their meeting edges by a strip, g2, which is held at its upper and lower ends upon the stationary part of the housing G. By this construction the housing may be readily opened, and access had to the screen B and drum O for the purpose of inspection or repair.

Beneath the lower end of the drum C is a shallow cylindrical receptacle, H, having a bottom, h, and a rim, h', and provided with Y an inlet, H', through which the material to be separated is fed. Said receptacle H is Aherein shown, Fig. 3, as being secured in position by being attached to the uprights A', and may be additionally upheld by braces h2, Fig. 1. The rim h' of the said receptacle H is preferably circular and of the same diameter as the screen B, the lower circumferential rib, b', of which is constructed to lrest upon the upper edge of the said rim and to form a close joint therewith.

At the upper end of the machine is placed a stationary rim, I, corresponding to the rim h' of the receptacle H, and secured in place. by attachment to the uprights A, said rim being also preferably secured at its upper edge to the head G3, which forms the top of the outer easing of the machine. The said rim I its at its lower edge upon the surface of the upper circumferential rib, b', of the screen-frame, so as to form a close joint therewith.

At the upper part of the chamber inclosed by the screen B, the receptacle H, and the rim I is located an outlet-opening, J, for the escape of the refuse or unbolted material, said opening J, as herein shown, Fig. 8, being IIO ISO

formed in one of the uprights A above the upper end of the aperture A3 in said upright.

In the operation of' the machine constructed as so far described, it is obvious that the spiral ribs D and beaters E (if said beaters are present) will cause the air within the space between the drum and the screen to move i around with the drum, so as to carry the material with it, and that said spiral flanges will produce a more rapid upward movement of the air and of the material in proportion as the rotary motion of the air-current is lessened. For the purpose of obstructing this rotary movement of the air by partially cutting off or reducing the area of the passage between the exterior ofthe drum and the surrounding screen, one or more vertical stops, partitions, or valves, K, are provided. Preferably, said valves are two in number and located at diametricallyopposite sides of the drum, as shown in Figs. 2 and 8. Said valves extend the greater part of the length of the cylinder, and are adjustably connected with the machineframe, so that their inner faces may be adjusted to a greater or less distance from the surface of the drum.

As herein shown, the valves K are fitted to slide in the vertical Aslots A3 in the uprights A', and are made of' considerable width, as best seen in Figs. 2 and 6. When thus broad, their faces adjacent to the drum are coneaved to. conform to the exterior curvature of the drum, as shown more clearly in Fig. 2. As a suitable and preferablel means for adj ustably securing the valves K in the slots A3 of the machine-frame, flanges K are secured at either side of the strip forming the main part of each valve, at right angles thereto, so as to bear at their outer faces upon the sides of the slot A3, said flanges K being provided with horizontal slots k, through which are insertedY thumb-screws-c, entering the walls of said slot A3, and reached from the outside of the machine. The inner faces of the valves K may be provided with aseries of transverse corrugations or ribs, 7a2, as illustrated at the left hand in Figs. 2 and 3, said ribs being horizontal or slightly inclined, as illustrated in detail, Figs. 6 and 7. The object of such ribs is to prevent the material thrown outwardly by the centrifugal action of the drum against the surface of the valves from falling vertically, the said ribs serving to support the material striking such valve-surface and retaining it until drawn away by the lateral movement of the air-current. By making the ribs 7a2 inclined a slight upward movement of the material supported thereby is produced as it is carried laterally in the manner described, so that such material is continuously fed upward. In Fig. 8 the ribs k2 are shown as being rounded in cross-sectional shape, so as to give a corrugated form to the surface of the valve, instead of being angular in shape, as shown in Fig. 7.

As a simple and economical means of constructing the flanges D, said flanges may be made'inthe manner nextdescribed, and illustrated in Figs. 5, 9, and 10. As shown in said figures, said flanges consist of a series of relatively short curved strips, D', of sheet metal, which are secured to the surface of the drum, and the meeting ends of which are lapped in such manner that the end of each strip, ywhich is in advance in the rotary motion of the drum, is beneath the overlapping end of the strip adjacent to it. The strips are formed from curved sheet-metal blanks, one of which is shown in Fig. 10, said blanks being eut so as to form slits d, extending equal distances inwardly from the concave edge thereof, as shown in said figure, and the parts d between the slits are bent alternately in opposite directions, as shown in Fig. 9, so asto rest flat upon the surface of the drum, to which they may be secured in any convenient or desired manner. The cylindric portion of the drum, as herein shown, is made of wood, and the strips D are conveniently secured thereto by screws or nails driven into the surface of the drum through the apertures d2 in the part d.

As shown in Fig. 1l, the flange D, at the lower end of the drum G, is transversely inclined or set at an angle to the face of the drum, its outer edge being considerably higher than the edge which is secured to the drum, while, as the flange rises toward the top of the drum, the inclination is gradually diminished until, at the upper end of the drum, the flange is nearly or quite horizontal. The effeet of this vconstruction is to give a more rapid upward impulse and movement to the material in the lower part of the bolt, and to more evenly distribute the work throughout the entirelength of the bolt. Another effect of the greater inclination of the fiange at the lower end of the drum is to lessen the foreewith which the material is borne outward against the bolting-cloth, owing, manifestly, tothe up-` wardly-inclined direction yatwhichl it leaves the surface of the flange. By this means the crowding of the lower end of the bolt is lesscned, and, as before stated, the work is more evenly distributed throughout all parts of the bolt. rIhe upward movement of the material may further be facilitated or hastened by giving to the spiral flange D a wavy curvature, (indicated in Fig. 13,) and such undulatory curvature may be applied to the flange whether the latter has the inclination last above referred to or not. In Fig. 13V the flange is shown as being inclined to the face of the drum, and the undulatory direction of the flange does not extend to its inner edge. Vhen such undulations are given to the flange D, and when the beaters E are also employed, said beaters are placed at the elevations of the flange, as shown, so as to impart the more violent centrifugal impulse to the material for which said beaters are intended at the moment it has acquired the upward motion due to the rise in thefiange.

Even with provisions, as above referred to,

IOC)

IIO

for more evenly distributing the material and Work throughout the length of the bolt,it is still common in centrifugal bolts for an excess ofthe material to obtain in the lower end of the bolt and for the quantity to diminish toward the top. The outward impulse of the material is consequently greater in the lower and less in the upper parts of the bolt. As a compensation for this unequal outward pressure of the material. upon the bolting-cloth, I prefer to make the said cloth in sections of different fineness of mesh, the coarser being placed above the finer. In this construction the coarse particles and impurities of the material are retained within the lower part of the bolt by the fineness ofthe screen-mesh, while in the higher regions of the bolt, where the outward pressure is diminished, they are equally retained by a cloth of coarser mesh. The fluffy and flaky material, even if very line, will not escape through the upper and coarser meshes,because of the air-current which tends to draw them upward. 'Ihe screen-mesh at the upper end of the bolt may be quite coarse, and the capacity of the machine thereby materially increased.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination, in a vertical separator, of a rotating drum provided with a spiral flange or flanges, a screen exterior to the drum, and one or more vertical partial partitions or valves arranged to constrict the space between the screen and the drum, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination, in a vertical separator, of a rotating flanged .or winged drum, a screen exterior to the drum, and one or more adjustable partitions or valves arranged to constrict the space surrounding the drum, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination, in a vertical separator, of a rotating flanged or winged drum, a screen exterior to the drum, and an adjustable valve or partition, K, having a broad inner face adjacent to the surface of the drum, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. The combination in a vertical separator, of a rotating flanged or winged drum, and one or more adjustable vertical valves, K, having the inner face transversely ribbed, substantially as described, and for the purpose set forth.

5. The combination, in a vertical separator, Y

of a rotating flanged or winged drum, ascreen exterior to the drum, and a broad-faced vertical valve, K, concaved on its face to conform with the drum, substantially as and for the purpose set forth. v

6. The combination, in a vertical separator, of a rotating ilanged or winged drum, a screen exterior to the drum, one or more valves for constricting the space about the drum, and means for inwardly and outwardly adjusting said valve or valves from the exterior of the machine, substantially as described.

7. The combination, with the drum and exterior screen of a vertical bolt, of a spirallyarranged flange secured to the drum, said flange being inclined upwardly and outwardly from its inner to its outer edge, substantially as and for the'purpose set forth.

8. Thecombination, with the drum and xterior screen lof a vertical bolt, of a spirallyarranged flange secured to the drum, said flange being inclined upwardly and outwardly from its inner to its outer edge and having a greater inclination at the lower than the upper end of the drum, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

9. The combination', with the drum and surrounding screen, of a vertical separator, a spirally-arranged .flange or flanges of undulating curved form, substantially as shown,and for the purposes set forth.

10. In combination with the drum and surrounding screen of a vertical separator, a curved or undulating spirally-directed flange secured to the drum and beaters secured to the drum at the elevated points of the undulatory ilange, substantially as described.

I1. In a vertical separator constructed to carry the material being operated upon upward through the machine, the combination, with a flanged or winged drum, of y a surrounding screen made in sections of unequal neness, the coarser sections being placed above the liner, substantially as and for the purpose set forth. Y

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

LOUIS GATHMANN.

Witnesses:

M. E. DAYTQN, OLIVER E. PAGIN. 

